Remember back when windows 95 was first released how people waited overnight online to get a copy? Well... maybe you don't but Windows 95 was a huge step forward in personal computing. It was the interface that made it possible for the average person to own and interact with a computer. People might not line up to get the new Vista but never the less it will be the operating system to bring us into the next generation on PC's.
Originally labeled "Longhorn" Vista is scheduled to be released in December so production computers (Dell, Compaq etc.) will have it on the shelves by Christmas. The retail version is scheduled for January. Vista had it's release date moved back several times because MS was having trouble building in all the new features they wanted to introduce. In fact this release will be missing some of these features but they will follow later as extensions.
What is new in Vista? Some of the features are new and very cool while others were badly needed. Obviously the most needed was security, and Vista now includes built in spyware tools and a phishing filter. Many of the network and browser security issues Vista has corrected. A new Internet Explorer browser, with very cool tabbing and search features. It will also allow multiple home pages. There are massive performance and stability improvements. New calendar, Media Player, DVD authoring and burning tools, a movie maker and a couple of versions will have Media Center built in.
Now I mentioned versions, there will be six all together, so there is bound to be one that will suite your needs. For the business versions there are new search and productivity tools and the new integration with the new MS Office and business tools will make it even more productive.
There is a price to pay for this, the new Vista is not a small program and though it is the first scalable OS, which means it will read your system and install only what your system will support you will need a fairly strong machine They say it will run on 512 Megs of RAM but you better figure on at least a Gig. You will also need fairly decent graphic capabilities. If you have an older machine don't think about running Vista. We will go into more detail about the different features in future articles but I can tell you that after training on Vista, I like it.
About The Author Chris Kaminski has been working in computer repair and web development for the last 20 years. Kaminski is CEO and head technician for Computerguyslive.com, an online computer repair company based in Asheville, NC. Visit Computer Guys Live online for computer repair at www.computerguyslive.com and check out the invaluable wireless connection guide at computerguyslive.com/content/wireless/wirelessindex.asp.
